USC News

FAMILY MATTERS

By

January 7, 2013

Trojans reconnect at Reunion Weekend

Five generations of Trojans returned to campus in early November for this year’s Reunion Weekend celebration.

More than 1,100 Trojans — alumni from the classes of 1962, 1972, 1982, 1987, 2002 and their guests — attended the USC Alumni Association’s two-day celebration of Trojan Family ties.

In addition to academic lectures, deans’ receptions, campus tours and a welcome and address from USC Provost Elizabeth Garrett, this year’s program featured a new attraction: an All-Class Reunion Dinner with USC President C. L. Max Nikias at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

Nearly 600 alumni, friends and family attended the dinner, during which Nikias hailed USC alumni as “a living symbol of the power of our Trojan Family.”

That “power” was evident in the enthusiastic participation of this year’s five reunion classes, both in terms of the weekend’s attendance and annual giving, which increased by 47 percent in 2012.

Turning the page toward leadership in libraries

USC librarians Chimene Tucker and Melanee Vicedo have been selected to participate in the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Leadership and Career Development Program (LCDP) for 2013-14.

The LCDP is an 18-month program designed to prepare mid-career librarians from traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups to take on increasingly demanding leadership roles in the ARL.

The program includes three institutes, a mentor relationship with an ARL director or senior staff member, research coaching and participation in other activities related to ARL’s strategic directions.

Tucker’s project will examine the literacy skills and competencies librarians are using and determine those that may need to be developed to support new multimedia research projects of students and faculty.

Vicedo’s project will seek to determine the relevancy and use of library collections for students enrolled in the USC Master’s in Social Work online program.

Randy Newman rolls into rock’s Hall of Fame

Musician Randy Newman, a Board of Councilors member at the USC Thornton School of Music, has been inducted into the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Newman, who works with students in the school’s Popular Music Program, also serves as a mentor with USC Thornton’s Mentorship Program. He is joined in the 2013 class by rockers Rush and Heart, the rap group Public Enemy, former disco queen Donna Summer and blues guitarist Albert King.

“I’m very happy,” Newman told Fox News. “I thought I’d have to die first, but I’m glad I’m around to see it.”

In memoriam: Forrest N. Shumway, 85

Forrest N. Shumway, former vice chairman of Allied-Signal Inc. and former chairman and CEO of the Signal Companies Inc., died on Dec. 4 in San Diego. He was 85.

Shumway, a native of Skowhegan, Maine, and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, was elected to the USC Board of Trustees in 1968 and chaired the finance committee during the 1970s, a period when he also served as university treasurer.

He took a lead in fundraising efforts in the 1980s and helped direct what at the time was one of the most successful campaigns in higher education, raising $641.6 million in cash and pledges over a period of six years.

From 1990 to 1995, Shumway served as chairman of the board. In that capacity, he presided over the recruitment of Steven B. Sample as the university’s 10th president in 1991.

At USC’s Academic Honors Convocation in 1997, Shumway was recognized for his years of dedicated leadership with the Presidential Medallion, the university’s highest award.

Shumway is survived by his wife, Patsy; daughter Brooks; son Garrett; grandchildren Kate and Jack; and brother Doug.